Chapter 191 World Eight (Fourteen)
Seeing that Li Qiuran refused to open the door, Li Dongran had to stop knocking on the door and patiently mend his clothes.
But by the time Li Dongran had mended his clothes, the bright moon had already climbed to the top of the willow trees.
Li Dongran didn't bother to warm up the cold rice cake, so he simply wrapped it up with reed leaves and sent it to the Shen family.
Seeing Shen Yunshan, Li Dongran couldn't hide his inner joy, and his tone rose slightly: "Brother Shen, what a coincidence to run into you."
Li Dongran extended his palm and handed the rice cake to Shen Yunshan, explaining hesitantly, "I made this rice cake myself. They all said it tasted good, so I sent it to you, Brother Shen, and Aunt Shen to try. But Aunt Shen may have misunderstood and thought I was selling rice cakes, so she gave me six copper coins. One spoonful of white rice can steam a full tray, so it's not worth much money. I'm returning the copper coins to you now."
After saying this, Li Dongran reached for his waist, which was empty. A faint blush washed over him as he remembered that when he first returned to the Li family, the six copper coins Shen Liu had given him had been snatched away by Li Qiuran. Now, penniless, how could he possibly return the money to Shen Yunshan?
But she had just said those words, and now Shen Yunshan saw her hesitant and tangled expression, and he thought she was going back on her word.
He talked a lot of nice things, but in fact he was extremely reluctant to part with his six copper coins, so he pretended that he couldn't find it.
Li Dongran's face was filled with embarrassment. She stammered, "My sister took the copper coins."
Shen Yunshan remained indifferent as he reached out to take the rice cake.
As soon as he saw the white glutinous rice cake, he thought of some extremely beautiful scenes.
When dealing with outsiders, Shen Yunshan always has a gentle expression, making people feel like a spring breeze.
"Rice is cheap, but it takes a lot of effort to knead the dough and light the fire. We've already paid for it in cash, so why should we talk about repayment?"
If Baoshan were here, she would definitely be able to hear the aloofness and coldness in Shen Yunshan's calm and gentle voice.
Every word and sentence was meant to distance himself from Li Dongran.
It doesn't matter whether the rice used to make rice cakes is expensive or cheap.
When the Li family brought rice cakes, the Shen family handed over copper coins, using silver and money to replace their affection. There was no interaction between neighbors at all, it was just a pure exchange of goods.
But Li Dongran did not see through the coldness under Shen Yunshan's gentle face, and only felt warmth in his heart.
The method of making rice cakes was invented by her alone, but no one in the Li family remembered her kindness and took it for granted that they pocketed the money earned from selling the rice cakes.
Only Shen Yunshan knew how hard she had worked. Li Dongran's eyes flashed and her body gradually relaxed.
She seemed to regard Shen Yunshan as someone to whom she could confide her true feelings.
"I didn't mean to be late, it was my sister who asked me to mend her clothes.
The room was pitch black, and she didn't light the oil lamp, so I could only lean against the window frame and use the light from outside to align my needlework..."
Shen Yunshan frowned slightly, but seeing Li Dongran's sad face, he didn't interrupt him after all.
Li Dongran carefully considered his tone and explained, "I only gave two rice cakes. It was an unintentional mistake. Miss Baoshan suddenly asked me this question, and I didn't know how to explain it for a moment. It happened that Aunt Shen saw it.
Aunt Shen may have misunderstood and looked very angry. Brother Shen, does Miss Baoshan have...?
Shen Yunshan's eyebrows were slightly cold, and his tone was not as gentle as before: "My cousin has a soft personality, maybe she doesn't get along with Miss Li.
Although she is timid, she has never spread rumors. Miss Li, there is no need to worry too much."
Li Dongran's face turned pale, and he quickly explained: "I'm not..."
She was just worried that if Baoshan said anything bad, Shen Yunshan and Shen Liu would become more distant from her.
Shen Yunshan lowered his eyelids slightly: "Miss Li, please be careful when you talk about trivial matters at home. It's getting late, so I'll take my leave first."
After saying that, Shen Yunshan turned and left.
Li Dongran looked at Shen Yunshan's receding back and felt panic in his heart.
In just a moment, Shen Yunshan treated her so coldly, just because she said something about guessing the treasure fan.
Shen Yunshan returned to the Shen family. The window of Baoshan's room was slightly open, and dim candlelight poured out from it.
Shen Yunshan walked closer, raised his finger slightly, and tapped the window lightly.
The window was opened, revealing a face as white as jade.
Her long, black eyelashes trembled slightly. Bao Shan seemed not to have expected it to be Shen Yunshan. She asked softly, "So it's cousin Yunshan. What's the matter?"
Her long black hair fell like a waterfall, draped over Bao Shan's delicate and thin shoulders.
Her black hair makes her cheeks look even more fair and rosy.
Her eyes were so clear that they were even brighter than the candlelight behind her.
Shen Yunshan stretched out his wide sleeves slightly and placed the rice cake on the window frame.
"This one's yours."
Bao Shan reached out to take it, but Shen Yunshan pressed it on the rice cake. There was a dark color in his eyes that was hard to see.
"At this hour, the stomach will be full of food. Save it for tomorrow."
Bao Shan said softly, "Okay."
The next day.
Shen Liushi heated up the rice cake, and Baoshan broke off a small piece and put it into her mouth.
It has a light fragrance and is slightly sweet. It is just a rice cake that has just been baked, so the taste is quite good.
But after it cooled down and I heated it up again, it no longer tasted fresh and delicious.
Baoshan placed the porcelain plate of rice cakes in the middle of the table.
Shen Liushi asked, “Why don’t you eat anymore?”
Baoshan shook her head gently and picked up the rice porridge cooked by Shen Liushi herself: “If you eat too much, you won’t be able to use the food cooked by your aunt.”
These words naturally made Shen Liushi feel refreshed. Under the gentle persuasion of Baoshan, Shen Liushi ate the rice cake on the porcelain plate.
Shen Yunshan was about to set off to return to Xiangjiang Academy. Although Shen Liushi was reluctant to let her son leave home, she always took the overall situation into consideration.
If Shen Yunshan stayed in this small village all day, when would he be able to make a name for himself?
As the weather got colder, Shen Liu packed some thicker clothes for Shen Yunshan.
Shen Liushi then mixed pickled vegetables with diced onions and radishes, drizzled them with sesame oil, put them in a small clay pot, wrapped them in thick oil paper, and put them into Shen Yunshan's bag.
Baoshan was packing the rice paper and ink that Shen Yunshan was going to take to Xiangjiang Academy.
Xiangjiang Academy is located in Luo County, a place with outstanding people and rich resources.
At the same time, pens, ink, paper and inkstones are all very expensive.
In order to save money, Shen Yunshan brought some rice paper from home, which saved him a lot of money.
The slender fingers paused slightly, Baoshan thought for a moment, and stuffed a piece of written rice paper between the rice papers that had not been stained with ink.
Shen Yunshan was in Xiangjiang Academy, and he could only go home once every one month or half a year.
During such a long period of time, the pure and simple sound of recitation in the academy and the fragrance of ink all around inevitably made Shen Yunshan's mind peaceful.
Because of blood ties, Shen Yunshan will miss Shen Liushi at home.
But for this distant cousin of mine, with whom I have no relatives or friends and with whom I have only lived for half a month, I am afraid that when we meet again, I won’t even be able to call out her name.
If I were to meet a beautiful woman again, with whom I could have a spiritual connection and a harmonious relationship, I would probably not even be able to remember the features of Bao Shan.
The treasured fan needed to hold some kind of memory, allowing Shen Yunshan of Xiangjiang Academy to remember from time to time that, far away at home, he still had a distant cousin who treated him with special reliance. However, this memory couldn't be something close to him. If it were a sachet or handkerchief, even if the treasured fan had painstakingly hidden them in Shen Yunshan's bag, it would be a shame.
When Shen Yunshan discovered this, he would frown and throw these objects away.
After all, they are still cousins now, and there is no love between them.
Someone as restrained as Shen Yunshan would never accept something as private as a handkerchief.
This written rice paper is very good. It is not intrusive, but it can also arouse some thoughts when Shen Yunshan sees it.
Shen Yunshan picked up his bag and turned to look at the two women standing outside the Shen family's door.
One is his mother who gave birth to him, and the other is his weak cousin.
They all looked at him with longing eyes.
A strange feeling emerged in Shen Yunshan's heart.
But he didn't think about it too much. Instead, he turned around and left without any reluctance.
The carriage moved slowly, and Shen Yunshan's palm moved slightly and touched a slightly hard object.
His brows moved slightly, he untied the bundle and took out the hard object, which turned out to be a few water chestnuts.
Shen Yunshan's thoughts turned, and he remembered what he had said to Shen Liushi: "The lotus flowers have faded, but water chestnuts are hard to find."
At that time, Bao Shan, who was hanging clothes to dry, poked his head out from behind the wet cloth and said softly, "Why don't you go to the town? There will be some for sale there."
Shen Liu sighed softly: “At this time of year, I’m afraid it’s gone.”
Bao Shan raised her watery eyes and looked at Shen Yunshan, her tone gentle: "If cousin Yunshan wants to eat, he has to ask, right?"
Shen Yunshan held the water chestnuts in his hands, feeling mixed emotions. The lotus flowers had already withered, and it must have taken a lot of effort to find these water chestnuts.
...I don't know when it was put in there, and I didn't even tell him.
Shen Yunshan peeled the water chestnuts and found them sweet and soft.
There were only Shen Liushi and Baoshan at home, and they lived a relaxed and comfortable life.
Although the daily meals were not as demanding as when Shen Yunshan was at home, Shen Liushi was not perfunctory. The porridge, side dishes, and wild fruit and vegetable soup were extremely delicious.
The water drops dripped into the wooden basin, and the splashing water droplets almost fell on Shen Liushi.
She took the washed clothes, wrung out the water, and handed them to Baoshan.
There were several bamboo poles in the courtyard, and Baoshan unfolded the clothes handed over by Shen Liushi and spread them evenly on the bamboo poles.
"Auntie, I'm tired. Let me do it."
Shen Liushi waved her hands and said, "Your body can't do this. Last time, you secretly wrung out clothes, and your hands turned red, and it took a long time to fade away."
Bao Shan was weak, and Shen Liushi had seen her wringing clothes and hurting her hands, so she never let Bao Shan do such heavy work again.
Moreover, Chen Liu was used to running the household alone. Now that she had the treasure fan by her side, helping with some light chores, she felt a little more relaxed.
Hearing Shen Liushi mention that embarrassing incident, Baoshan’s cheeks flushed, she lowered her head, and said softly, “Aunt, you are making fun of me again.”
Just then, there was a noise outside the door. Baoshan didn't even have time to wipe the water droplets off his palm before he opened the bolt.
"Which... Miss Li?"
Li Dongran was holding a few pastries in her hands, all of which were new styles she had recently come up with.
Although rice cakes are novel and delicious, they are simple to make and were soon imitated by people in the town.
They bought Li Dongran's rice cakes, broke them into pieces, and wondered how they were steamed. Before long, rice cakes were sold everywhere in the town.
Li Dongran came up with the idea of making red bean cakes, which tasted sweet. As soon as the lid was opened, the aroma attracted several young children so much that they couldn't walk and they crowded to the front of Li Dongran's stall with eager eyes.
Li Dongran was still brooding over what happened that night. She tossed and turned at home for a long time before finally coming up with a clue.
Baoshan is a member of the Shen family, so it is really inappropriate for her to make random speculations.
What's more, although she had good intentions in giving the rice cakes, she took one less portion, which was her fault.
But he spoke so casually in front of Shen Yunshan, as if he was making malicious assumptions about others, which was bound to make people dislike him.
Li Dongran thought about it for a while, then took the red bean cakes to explain to Shen Yunshan. This time, she brought enough.
"But—cousin Yunshan went to Xiangjiang Academy three days ago."
Baoshan's eyelashes trembled slightly, and he looked confused.
She raised her eyes slightly and looked at the red bean cake in Li Dongran's hand. A sweet scent filled the air.
Bao Shan frowned slightly, as if in embarrassment: "It's so much... there's only my aunt and I at home, I'm afraid we can't finish it all."
Li Dongran was about to speak when Shen Liushi opened the door. She turned around and told Baoshan, “There are two more clothes. Hang them on the bamboo pole first.”
Baoshan responded and turned to leave.
"Aunt Shen, this isn't something you're buying, it's something you're sending..."
Shen Liushi did not hide the irritation in her eyes: "Sell it or give it away. My family postponed the marriage with your sister, so you should stay away."
Li Dongran was speechless, because every word Shen Liu said was reasonable.
There was no brute force to stop him, nor were there any harsh words. But Li Dongran was so upset that he didn't even care when someone else shared the red bean cakes he brought home.
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